Rain Chances Increasing For The Weekend
July 9, 2010
We can expect a hot day today, with the heat index topping out about 105. It will not be as hot for the weekend, but we will have higher rain chances as the weekend progresses.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Friday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly cloudy, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 105. Calm wind becoming southwest between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming west between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. West southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 92. West wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. West southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Monday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Monday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 94. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Tuesday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Wednesday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 95. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Wednesday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Thursday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 94. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Penny Bushaw
July 8, 2010
Penny Bushaw, of Walnut Hill, passed away Sunday, July 4, 2010 after a long courageous battle with breast cancer at the age of 46 years. Penny was born on April 28, 1964 to Wayne and Darlene Mae Arnold in Harlan, Iowa. She graduated from Harlan Community High School in 1982.
Penny met Jeffrey L. Bushaw while both worked at Harding Glass Company in Omaha, Nebraska in 1990. They were later married in Panama City, Florida where they took up residence. Into this marriage were born Lance and Shane Bushaw. After moving to California, Nebraska, Minnesota, and back to Florida, the Bushaws made a permanent home in Walnut Hill where both children attend Northview High School.
Penny worked several years for Merritt Glass Company, Inc. in Pensacola, Florida. She was involved with the American Cancer Society ’s ” Relay For Life ” where she received several awards for her fundraising efforts. Penny was also very dedicated to her family and her boy’s sports participation in school. She was an outgoing, compassionate, and loving person who will be missed by many family and friends.
She was preceded in death by all four of her grandparents, Frank and Zee Arnold and Harvey and Pearl Nelsen; her uncle, James Lush; her sister, Pamela Harmsen; and her mother-in-law, Marilyn Bushaw.
Survivors include her husband, Jeffrey Bushaw; sons, Lance and Shane Bushaw; her parents, Wayne and Darlene Mae Arnold; her father and step-mother, Donald and Ann Bushaw; one brother, Brian Arnold and his wife, JoAnne; one niece, Jeanine Lewis and her husband, Mark; two nephews, Brian and Jesse Arnold; and one great-nephew, Dylan Lewis; several aunts, uncles and cousins.
Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, July 17, 2010 at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, 1000 Highway 29 South, Cantonment. Internment will be at the family home.
In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be made in Penny’s name to the American Cancer Society , 5401 Corporate Woods Drive, Pensacola, Florida 32504 or Covenant Hospice, 5041 North 12th. Avenue, Pensacola, Florida 32504.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home, 1000 Highway 29 South, Cantonment, is in charge of arrangements.
Crist Calls For Special Sesson To Seek Oil Drilling Ban
July 8, 2010
Calling it too important to leave to his successor, Gov. Charlie Crist called Thursday for a special session to ask voters to ban oil drilling off Florida’s coast – even though he doesn’t have buy-in from the House on the issue.
Crist’s call for lawmakers to return to town July 20 likely sets up a standoff with the Legislature – particularly the House – over the matter. Crist’s proposed amendment has a Senate sponsor, but so far nobody to carry the bill in the House.
Officially, Crist called for a four-day session to craft and pass a proposed constitutional ban on oil and gas exploration in state waters. If he can get it through the Legislature, it would go on the ballot in November for voter approval.
“I think it’s important that we put this into our constitution,” Crist told reporters at a hastily scheduled news conference. “Certainly, I think it’s important that we give the people of Florida the opportunity to make this call.”
Crist has been suggesting that lawmakers should return to propose a constitutional ban for several weeks, since not long after the April 20 explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon rig that led to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.
But with nearshore oil drilling already barred by a moratorium and no appetite in the wake of the spill to push for new drilling, House leaders have resisted. Several have said that Crist has been posturing – seeking the constitutional ban for political reasons. Crist is running for the U.S. Senate.
If a constitutional ban is to be put on the ballot by the Legislature, it has to be done soon. The deadline for getting a measure approved for the November ballot is the end of the day, Aug. 3.
Crist said he didn’t want to wait any longer to address the issue.
“I feel a compelling duty to protect Florida,” Crist said. “I’m going to be governor for about six more months and I think I would not be doing my duty as governor if I didn’t call for this special session.”
Crist said other issues arising from the spill could wait.
“This is a rifle shot,” Crist said of the narrow legislative call.
Several lawmakers have said there are other issues resulting from the spill that could require attention, most specifically the drop in property values expected along the Gulf coast.
Opponents of a constitutional ban say the existing moratorium on drilling in the Gulf makes a constitutional ban unnecessary, at least immediately. The argument is that lawmakers could easily pass a proposed amendment next March during the regular session.
Crist, who is running for Senate with no party affiliation and has been at odds with the Republican Legislature on several issues in the last few months , said he thinks the drilling prohibition needs to be stronger because future Legislatures could easily lift the ban.
“I know it’s barred statutorily, l but I also know that just last year they tried to change that statute and drill holes three miles off the coast of Florida,” Crist said. “That’s why … the will of the people should be heard on this.”
In order to put the issue on the November ballot, the proposal must be approved by the three-fifths of the House and Senate. To pass, it must then garner 60 percent of the popular vote.
Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, generally supports a ban. Incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, has opposed a constitutional ban.
The proposal will be sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami.
While Republicans have resisted a special session, Democrats have been pushing for one and praised Crist for it on Thursday.
“I commend the governor for agreeing to call for a special session to ban near beach oil drilling, despite the resistance from special interests and some members of the Legislature,” said state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democratic candidate for governor. But she and other Democrats urged Crist and lawmakers to take on other issues as well.
“In addition to banning near beach drilling, the special session should also tackle the urgent needs for our business owners and state, including much-needed small business relief, a more streamlined claims process, and the creation of an environmental endowment for additional research,” Sink said.
With criticism expected that he was grandstanding, or calling the special session to boost his Senate campaign, Crist said the issue was of paramount importance, and it was a simple call.
“The rightness of this is so clear, especially with what we have experienced in the past 80 days or so in the Gulf of Mexico,” Crist said. “This is an issue that is so important to the future our state, to the economy of Florida.”
On The Road, Again: Northview’s 2010 Football Schedule
July 8, 2010
The 2010 football schedule for Northview High School has been released, and it won’t have the Chiefs playing a home game until late September.
The Chiefs, 7-3 last year, will open their 2010 season on the road at Graceville on September 3. They will travel the next week, September 10, to South Walton before having an open date on the third Friday night of the season, September 17.
The first home game for the Chiefs, in their second year under Head Coach Sid Wheatley, will be September 24 against Bozeman.
Here is the complete schedule for the 2010 Northview Chiefs:
- September 3 Graceville — Away
- September 10 South Walton – Away
- September 24 Bozeman — Home
- October 1 Baker — Away
- October 8 Bonifay — Homecoming
- October 15 Freeport — Away
- October 22 Jay — Home
- October 29 Sneads — Away
- November 5 Vernon — Home
- November 12 — West Florida Tech — Home
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Missing Man Found After 11 Hour, 11 Mile Walk Down The Railroad
July 8, 2010
Authorities spent about two hours Wednesday evening searching for a Walnut Hill man that became lost after he walked about 11 miles along a railroad.
The 32-year old man phoned the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office about 6:30 p.m. saying he was lost on the railroad, and he had no idea where he was actually located. He told emergency dispatchers that he had left his home on Juniper Street in Walnut Hill about 5:30 a.m. with his two dogs. He said he had started walking along the railroad, apparently at Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill.
Eleven hours later, he told dispatchers that he only knew he was still on the railroad tracks somewhere in the woods.
Deputies checked the few crossings the Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway makes in North Escambia, while sheriff’s dispatchers tried to use the man’s cellphone GPS coordinates to locate him. The data provided by the man’s cellphone placed him at various locations, including Crabtree Church Road in Molino — but Crabtree Church Road does not intersect the railway line.
Just as the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was about to take to the air to search for the missing man, he once again phoned dispatchers and said had walked to a dirt road. He was located on Barrineau Park Road, near the Perdido River and the Alabama/Florida state line where he was picked up by a friend, apparently uninjured, and driven back to Walnut Hill.
Judges Denies Bond For Suspect In Stabbing Death
July 8, 2010
The man accused in the stabbing death of a pregnant mother and her unborn child Monday night in Cantonment will not be getting out of jail.
Phillip Arnold, 65, made his first appearance in court Wednesday where a judge ordered him held without bond. According to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators, Arnold will be charged with two counts of murder due to the unborn child not surviving.
Arnold is charged in the stabbing death of 44-year old Angela Brown and her unborn child, Angel. Brown was the mother of seven other children. Deputies say Arnold stabbed Brown in the chest with a knife, but they have not determined a motive.
For more details on the murder, click here.
Photos: Travel Trailer Fire
July 8, 2010
Firefighters were able to contain a travel trailer fire Wednesday morning and keep it from spreading to two homes.
The fire on Cricket Ridge Drive near Kingsfield Road was contained to the interior of the travel trailer, which was located directly adjacent to a brick home. The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries reported.
The Cantonment, Ensley and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the blaze.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Winning Streak For The Pelicans: Pensacola Tops Captains 9-5
July 8, 2010
The Pensacola Pelicans scored at least one run in each of the first five innings of the game in a wild and crazy affair to top the Shreveport-Bossier Captains 9-5 Wednesday night.
Shreveport-Bossier opened up the contest with three straight singles including an RBI from Christopher Garcia giving the Captains an early 1-0 lead.
Pensacola (22-28, 2-0) tied the game up in the bottom of the first inning when Javier Brito hit into a fielder’s choice to bring in Carlos Leon from third base to tie the game up at 1.
Jorge Alvarez led off the second inning with a golf shot that left the park in a hurry to left for his first homerun of the season. The homer gave the Captains a 2-1 lead.
The Pelicans grabbed their first lead of the contest in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI single from Marcos Rodriguez bringing in Chase Porch tying the game up at 2. Later in the inning, Carlos Leon had an RBI groundout scoring Rodriguez and which gave the Pels the lead 3-2.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lou Palmisano hit a line drive double into deep left center to score John Alonso to give the Pelicans a 4-2 lead. Later in the inning, Adolfo Gonzalez hit an infield RBI single to score Brito from third base to give Pensacola a 5-2 advantage.
Shreveport-Bossier answered right back in the top of the fourth inning when Brian Peterson crushed a hanging curveball from Jared Gothreaux deep to left center for his first homerun of the season. The homer pulled the Captains within a run at 5-4.
With the score 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Dallas Christison lined a single to right to score Porch and give the Pels a two run lead at 7-5.
The Pelicans got some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning when Javier Brito hit a bomb to left field for a two run homerun that gave Pensacola a 9-5 lead. The majestic shot was Brito’s tenth homerun of the season.
Jared Gothreaux (5-5) gets the win as he goes five innings and gives up five runs off nine hits on the night. Pelican reliever Lee Henry tossed a scoreless sixth and seventh inning. Seth Overbey threw a scoreless eighth inning while Austin Chambliss pitched a perfect ninth to close out the game.
Oil-Covered Sand Being Dumped In Area
July 8, 2010
Thousands of bags of oily waste are being dumped in Escambia County (Ala.), sometimes being trucked through North Escambia.
The Timberlands Landfill in Escambia County (Ala.) is one of several receiving bags of oil-contaminated sand being cleaned off coastal beaches.
According to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Allied Waste Services Timberlands Landfill outside Brewton is one of three in the state receiving oiled waste from BP. Generally, the oily sand and debris is contained in heavy plastic bags that are disposed of along with regular household waste.
The BP waste is transported to the landfills by Waste Managment, Inc.
Other landfills in Alabama receiving the oiled waste are the Magnolia Landfill in Baldwin County and Chastang near Mount Vernon.
Man, 19, Found Passed Out In Jeep With A Beer In His Lap, Wet Pants
July 8, 2010
A 19-year old was arrested after he was found passed out behind the wheel of his Jeep in Cottage Hill with a beer in his lap and wet pants.
Early Saturday morning, Escambia County deputies and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the area of Williams Ditch Road and Highway 95A to a reported man down. When they arrived, they found a Jeep Cherokee sitting at the intersection with driver Brett Derrel McDonald, 19, passed out in the driver’s seat, engine running, and an open can of Budweiser in his lap, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
According to Deputy John Zabelle’s arrest report:
“I asked McDonald for his driver’s license and he pointed to my patrol car which was parked across the street and said ‘there is the game warden right there’. McDonald’s speech was very slurred and I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. I asked McDonald again for his driver’s license and he proceeded to dig through loose change in the center console. I asked him again for his driver’s license and he removed his wallet, opened it, and looked through, passing by his driver’s license two times. He then then placed his wallet into his back pocket and stared at me. I asked him once again for his driver’s license and he stated that he doesn’t know where it is. I told him it was in his wallet, he laughed and pulled it out and handed it to me.”
McDonald told Deputy Zabelle that he had consumed five beers in about five hours.
“I asked him to step out of the vehicle where I observed he urinated in his pants and he was very unsteady on his feet. Due to his condition, I did not conduct a field sobriety exercise for his safety,” the arrest report states.
McDonald was taken into custody, at which time a Lortab was found on his person.
McDonald was charged with driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test and possession of an alcoholic beverage by a person less than 21 years of age. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on $3,750 bond. He is due to appear in court July 23.